Saturday, February 11, 2012

Paradise Inn Restaurant, Sunway Piramid: A Modern Influence on a Classic Gastronomy!

When something’s Classic, there a pretty good reason why it’s always Timeless!

There‘s a new restaurant in town! Paradise Inn Restaurant in Sunway Pyramid is set against a concept that transcends one back to ancient China while wavering between old charm and contemporary Oriental ambience. Based on the concept of inns that were once an integral part of Chinese culture, Paradise Inn represents the best of a restaurant, teahouse and dessert house all under one roof!

My first impression had me checking out their grand arch entrance to symbolize the traditional architecture of old Chinese houses. Then a long glance into the long restaurant was brightly light up with lots of lanterns artistically hung to provide a lovely flow of curves. Light blue Oriental motifs contrast against dark and light wood while grey slate bricks adorned the wall for a rustic ambience intermixed with modern touches. The restaurant was spacious and comfortable which I felt is crucially important to diners to enjoy the experience of a great meal!

We were greeted by a menu filled with teas, classic dishes and a decent array of desserts. Fruit and herb teas graced the first few pages and details of health benefits are noted in the menu to make ordering tea much easier.

All hot teas are served with little glass teapots with a warmer that just makes its looked so prettified! I actually liked the Lavender, Rosemary, Dried Longan and Chrysanthemum (RM6.80) a lot because the aroma was indeed alluring and soothing. The concoction is to remove our body ‘heat’, restore ‘qi’ nourishes blood flow and keep the throat moisten. A very easy floral tea to enjoy!

Jasmine, Osmanthus, Dried Longan and Chrysanthemum (RM6.80) is supposed to nourish the heart and spleen while improving eyesight and immune system. A lighter tea than the first one I tried but equally soothing. One can ask for refills of water.

I ordered the Greenie Apple Cucumber Iced Tea (RM8.80), a refreshing ice tea jazzed up with apple flavors. Could not really taste or smell the cucumber but the ice tea is still pretty lovely for my taste bud.

Another friend had the Very Berries Iced Tea (RM8.80) flavored with strawberry and blackcurrant. The restaurant also serves fruit juice, Chinese teas, soda and beer.

Paradise Inn features on Traditional Double-Boiled Soups served in earthenware and each pot serves 2-4 persons. All soups are double boiled with pork bones for hours before specific ingredients are added to provide various nutritional values. There are a total of eight types of soups with a special of the day featured for individual portion.

We sampled the Double-Boiled Water Goby with Spare Ribs and Fresh Apple (RM39.90) and Double-Boiled Sea Whelk with Spare Ribs and Chinese Yam (RM39.90). The first soup, featuring the pork based stock with added fish and fresh apple, was boiled to exude a flavorsome soup that was pretty good. I had a piece of the apple and love the soft and melt-in-the-mouth texture of the fruit. The second soup tasted a bit more normal than the first one. The health benefits from the sea whelk soup is said to maintain youthfulness (I definitely need a lot of this!!), nourishes the lungs and kidneys while improving eyesight. A good soup is always crucial to nourishing one’s health, so if you are just too lazy to make one, hop over here for its list of double-boiled soups for some rejuvenation!!

Hopping over to the appetizer sections, one worthy mentioned is the Sliced Tea Smoked Duck (RM12.90). Tender and salty sliced duck breast was simply sumptuous and smoky. I really didn’t mind the layer of fat as it contributed richness to the lean duck breast and found myself savoring several pieces of the duck. Not my cup of tea was the Crisp-Fried Fish with Preserved Bean Paste (RM12.90) simply because I was not a fan of preserved bean paste. Maybe it would be better with meat instead of fish! I spied Crisp-Fried Silver Bait with Salt and Pepper which I hope to try the next time when I return.

What was worthy of a return is definitely the house signature Stewed Pork Belly served with Lotus Bun (RM4.80 per piece)!!

Come on… look at this and tell me this does not make you drool!! Layers of luscious sin intertwined with lean pork braised in a sweet and savory sauce… sigh with happiness… J

Sandwich the pork belly between a lotus bun and douse with the sticky gravy before sinking in a bite is enough to make all my troubles go away… ha ha ha! Love the fact that the lean meat was still a bit firm for a good bite. I will take a few of these Chinese ‘burgers’ anytime!!

Coffee Pork Ribs also faired decent (RM19.90-small/RM29.90-medium/RM39.90-large) with tender pieces of boneless ribs coated in a slightly sweet coffee sauce. The coffee hint was subtle and the ribs were juicy enough to be savored with white rice. I certainly don’t mind having this for some simple comfort fare.

Crisp-Fried Shrimp Paste Chicken (RM18-small/RM27-medium/RM36-large) was redolent of the pungent shrimp paste. Crispy and juicy, these chickies are fairly addictive if you like shrimp paste!

Crustacean lovers… savored shelled prawn done in several ways such as Crisp-Fried Crystal Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk or Crisp-Fried Crystal Prawns in Wasabi Mayo Sauce (RM29.90-small/RM44.90-medium/RM59.90-large). Both were equally good for me as it depends on which sauce you like better. Salted egg yolk had a more savory and richness to the prawns while the wasabi mayo was hinted with the tinge of wasabi and creamy from the mayonnaise.

I simply adored the Stewed Eggplant with Minced Pork and Salted Fish in Claypot (RM16-small/RM24-medium/RM32-large). Pungent and savory, the aroma of the salted fish was intoxicating for me! Eggplant pieces were well cooked and absorbed the salty flavors of the salted fish… another classic that goes so well with rice… J

Poached Chinese Spinach with Egg Trio and Minced Pork in Superior Broth (RM16-small/RM24-medium/RM32-large) was another signature dish at Paradise Inn. Chocked full of pieces of salted egg, century egg and regular egg, the flavors of the spinach was light. I would have prefer the broth to be thicken up a bit to provide a more smoother texture to the vegetable as I had savored something similar somewhere else and their version was really silky smooth from the thicken broth. Flavor wise, no complaints as the vegetable dish tasted wholesome and comforting.

Braised Tofu with Crystal Prawns (RM25-small/RM37.50-medium/RM50-large) was mediocre for me in taste. The saving point of this dish is the homemade bean curd pieces which was really smooth and had good egg flavors.

Supreme Seafood Fried Rice (RM19.90-small/RM29.90-medium/RM39.90-large) was well received by everyone at our table. The fluffy rice had a good ‘wok hei’ and showcased simplicity at its best. Small chunks of seafood like fresh scallop and prawns brings out a sea of sweetness while Ebiko or flying fish roes added a lovely popping sensation to the rice. Thumbs up for this dish!

Another signature dish of Braised Vermicelli with Pork Trotters (RM19.90-small/RM29.90-medium/RM39.90-large) was a wonderland for pork lovers! Chunks of pork trotters braised in a supreme soy sauce based were ultimately paired with vermicelli. Good choice as the vermicelli contrasted the heaviness of the pork and soaked up the luscious flavors of the sauce! I think the elders would definitely approve this dish… J

With all the classic dishes above, I was glad to see that the dessert menu has some modern desserts together as well as some classics for some variety. There were eight choices and we made sure to order different ones for samplings.

Out of the four desserts of Mango Sago (RM8), Doubled Boiled Hasma with Red Dates and Dried Longan (RM12), Chilled Lemongrass Jelly with Lemonade (RM6) and Ah Balling with Red Bean Sago (RM6), I liked the mango and lemongrass jelly. Mango Sago was a thick puree of sweet mango inducted with bits of pomelo and sago pearls while lemongrass jelly was refreshing as the lemongrass and lime partner so well in this dessert. The other two desserts were also decent from feedbacks of others but since I am not a hasma or red bean fan, it’s simply not fair to comment on this.

Overall, Paradise Inn Restaurant seemed to have a fair share of noteworthy dishes and average ones. Deemed fairly new in Malaysia since mid of December 2011, the choices of food and drinks seemed to have great potential from classics to a few modern influenced ones. Price may be slightly above the norm but I doubt it’s any more than its more renowned competitors here. Under the umbrella of the Paradise Group, Paradise Inn is one of the eight culinary concepts first launched in Singapore. Diners will be glad to know that the Paradise Group already has another two culinary concepts work in progress, Kungfu Paradise and Paradise Dynasty to be open by March 2012 in the all-new Paradigm in PJ!